1Blocker is one of the go-to native Ad Blockers for iPhone, iPad, and iPod. But users seem to be uninstalling it from their devices en masse lately. Here’s why.
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What went wrong with 1Blocker X?
The developers behind 1Blocker recently teased a new improved version of their app.
Dubbed 1Blocker X, the advanced version of the old 1Blocker aims to bring better content blocking features to your Apple device. But here the catch – you must pay $4.99 to switch to the new version.
Paid upgrades are considered normal, especially on the iOS App Store. The reason behind this is that Apple doesn’t allow auto-upgrades for apps by the same developer.
Though 1Blocker X is a solid upgrade, the users didn’t take it kindly. Their main gripe is that the developers never pushed updates for the legacy version’s tracker list.
Moreover, some users who recently purchased the premium version complained that this update could have been shipped for the existing version instead of being implemented in a whole new app.
As for the developers, they didn’t do a great job of interacting with the users either. They announced a new version rather “abruptly” without any prior notice.
Is 1Blocker X worth an upgrade?
The new version is definitely worthwhile if you are looking for a powerful native content blocker.
It’s paid and might be a bit on the expensive for several users, especially for those who still use the legacy version.
If you are looking for an alternative, I would suggest going for Magic Lasso or FireFox Focus, both of which are available for free on the App Store.
For those who want a more powerful alternative, you can grab Weblock by FutureMind for $1.99.
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I’d gladly pay $5 for the 1Blocker X upgrade. The old version gave me decent iOS/Safari adblocking for more than 2 years. It also had the ability to allow me to add custom blocking “packages” for specific websites, along with the usual element blocking (still clunky, but probably as good as it can get on iOS) and whitelisting. I figure $4.99 isn’t that bad, and it’s way better than some apps adopting the revolting subscription model (looking at you, Drafts) that simply overcharges (no, I’m not falling for that “cheaper than a cup of coffee excuse, tyvm) beyond belief.
Having said all that, I can imagine a new user to 1Blocker being a mit miffed about having the old app be put on legacy status only a few months after paying for it. Perhaps the devs could offer discounts to users who purchased in the last 6 months or something, though I have no idea if Apple lets them implement such things or not.
I must admit that Magic Lasso does look interesting. I’ll have to give that a test run. Thanks.
I guess the developer was looking to build a new app and obviously make some money since a lot of work was involved. But “ignoring” the legacy version that became legacy overnight wasn’t such a good idea.
Though I don’t use adblockers anymore, I must admit Magic Lasso works just as advertised. You can’t go wrong with either of these apps. Welcome.